Dark Souls, Pixel Art and Vikings Combine in Eitr

The developers of the in-the-works action RPGEitr have recent released their first chunk of view-able gameplay footage.

Update: The creators of Eitr contacted us with additional information to help clarify the game's influences. We've added the information to the original article.

Did you like Dark Souls? Of course, you did. After all, what isn't to like a game based in a grim and brutal fantasy world where death, humiliation and frustration wait around every corner. As good as Dark Souls and its sequel were however, there were still a few things missing from their mix. The Souls games, for instance, were sadly bereft of pixel art and Vikings. Luckily, two developers are working on a new game that could rectify those egregious exemptions.

The game, named Eitr, is being developed in Unity by London-based indie developers David Wright and Tobi Harper. Based in Norse mythology, the game will follow the efforts of a lone shield maiden fighting against horrific foes with little more than her sword, shield and the player to see through her. According to Wright, the game was initially inspired by their History Channel original series Vikings and, in particular, the character Lagertha. That being the case, Wright also made no bones about the influence of titles like Dark Souls on the development of Eitr. "Eitr has definitely been inspired by Dark Souls," said Wright, speaking to The Escapist. "[It's] a game series that I've spent hundreds of hours playing, they are some of my favorite games of all time."

Hoping to give gamers a taste of what this influence means in their game, Wright and Harper recently released their first chunk of publicly view-able game footage which focuses primarily on the game's heroine as she battles through a dark dungeon against a variety of enemies and a boss character. The combat, as shown in the video, seems to make healthy use things like dodging, blocking and carefully timed attacks. In addition to Dark Souls, Wright also stated Eitr will draw heavily on action RPGs like Diablo and Path of Exile. He and Harper also intend to give the game its own unique feel and identity. It's their hope that the game's pixel art visuals, for instance, will help to give it "an old school feel." It will also differ in that it will focus on a single static protagonist as opposed to one made by the player themselves.

Depending on the success of a planned Kickstarter, Eitr could also vary in the breadth of platforms in winds up on. While the current version is being developed for PC, its use of Unity could easily lead to the finished product winding up on consoles and even handhelds. Just speaking personally, this is definitely the sort of game I could see myself spending hours playing on my Vita. Take a look at Eitr yourself and let us know what you think, Does this look like a future must-play for you, or is this merely a Dark Souls clone in different clothes?